These are my reflections on those Scriptures that God has used to comfort me as I have travelled through the "valleys of Shadow of death." I am hoping that they will comfort those fellow-travelers who are going through the wilderness of life. At times, I will also write blogs relevant to mental illness, particularly as it relates to issues of faith, theology and community. All Scriptures used here will be from New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise specified.

Reflections

Illustration: Jon Han
Many psychiatric treatments are iatrogenic, meaning the treatment itself creates new disordered symptoms. Unfortunately, not all physicians are familiar with all side effects of these drugs. This is partially because pharmaceutical companies don't expose all side effects, ... [Continue Reading]

The following is a paper I presented at the 17th annual conference of The International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis in Philadelphia:
The famous British scholar C.S. Lewis noted that,
What we learn from experience depends on the kind of ... [Continue Reading]

I presented the following paper at the 20th international congress of International Society For Psychological And Social Approaches to Psychosis, in Liverpool , UK, on Sept. 2nd, 2017.
Good morning everyone! My name is Elahe Hessamfar.
In the paper I am presenting to you today, I ... [Continue Reading]

I was reading a recently published article in the New Yorker, by Jerome Groopman, about those who hear voices. The article questions why some people hear voices, and when such voices might become a problem. I found the article interesting. The article builds upon the concept of self-talk and the ... [Continue Reading]

Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, ... [Continue Reading]

The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. 1 John 2:6
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and ... [Continue Reading]

In today’s popular psychology culture, when faced with emotional distress, we are told that we should work on building up self-esteem. The emphasis on self-esteem is deeply permeated in our culture, and strongly advocated by many psychologists and educators. We are told that first and ... [Continue Reading]

We are a nation lost in our own self-worship, reaching for straws to pull ourselves out of pain and despair, hoping that somehow we can find the route to self-enforced transcendence, even if it means medicating ourselves toward that goal.
Most of us refuse to accept that the void can only be ... [Continue Reading]

Depression is a soul-wrenching, dark, and dreadful illness. Those suffering from depression, encounter such despair and hopelessness that makes them desperate for solutions in search of healing. The cause of depression is not yet known. Most people have bought into the medical narrative of a broken ... [Continue Reading]

Although He was a Son, He learned Obedience from the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).
[B]ut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts ... [Continue Reading]